Qualcomm India President Sunil Lalvani quits: Report

Sunil Lalvani, President of Qualcomm India, stepped down on Tuesday, within a year of joining the multinational semiconductor and telecom equipment company. The company said that his replacement would be announced shortly.

It is believed that Lalvani quit the company owing to "performance pressure," the Hindu BusinessLine cited sources as saying.

However, the company seemed to suggest that "performance pressure" was not the reason, without specifying anything more.

"Sunil Lalvani has decided to step down from his position as VP & President of Qualcomm India. Parag Kar, Vice President of Government Affairs will serve as the interim head of India," it said in an official statement.

Last year, Lalvani had joined Qualcomm after having worked in BlackBerry, where he served as managing director of India and SAARC region. He also led a strong engagement with Carrier partner to enhance BlackBerry's service portfolio in the India region. While at Qualcomm, Lalvani was reportedly reporting to Jim Cathey, Senior Vice President and President, Asia Pacific and India, Qualcomm.

Lalvani took charge of the company's India business at a time when the San Diego-based firm "is facing huge challenges globally" and in the local market, the Hindu Business Line added.

Lalvani had replaced Avneesh Agrawal, who was with Qualcomm for over two decades.

According to Lalvani's LinkedIn profile, before BlackBerry he also has worked at EMC, Nokia Corporations, Cisco Systems and Sita Equant.

Qualcomm is an American multinational semiconductor and telecom equipment firm that designs and markets wireless telecom products and services. The company derives most of its revenue from chipmaking and the bulk of its profit from patent licensing businesses and has 224 offices worldwide.